Christmas Price Index
Encyclopedia
| Christmas Price Index (US$ United States dollar The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies.... ) |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Christmas Price Index |
Δ% in CPI | True Cost of Christmas |
| 1984 | $12,623.10 | +1.44% | $61,318.94 |
| 1985 | $12,765.99 | +1.13% | $62,818.92 |
| 1986 | $12,920.25 | +1.21% | $63,402.22 |
| 1987 | $13,871.75 | +7.36% | $68,740.80 |
| 1988 | $13,785.63 | -0.62% | $67,745.74 |
| 1989 | $14,598.78 | +5.90% | $70,961.21 |
| 1990 | $15,231.72 | +4.34% | $72,205.12 |
| 1991 | $15,455.79 | +1.47% | $71,907.19 |
| 1992 | $15,581.96 | +0.82% | $71,618.71 |
| 1993 | $15,760.70 | +1.15% | $72,258.42 |
| 1994 | $15,944.20 | +1.16% | $73,258.42 |
| 1995 | $12,481.65 | -21.72% | $51,764.94 |
| 1996 | $13,195.86 | +5.72% | $54,478.36 |
| 1997 | $13,343.86 | +1.12% | $55,086.26 |
| 1998 | $14,214.90 | +6.53% | $58,405.09 |
| 1999 | $14,940.17 | +5.10% | $59,719.33 |
| 2000 | $15,210.22 | +1.81% | $60,307.18 |
| 2001 | $15,748.81 | +3.54% | $62,935.17 |
| 2002 | $14,558.05 | -7.56% | $54,951.31 |
| 2003 | $16,885.28 | +15.99% | $65,264.28 |
| 2004 | $17,296.91 | +2.44% | $66,334.46 |
| 2005 | $18,348.87 | +6.08% | $72,608.02 |
| 2006 | $18,920.59 | +3.12% | $75,122.03 |
| 2007 | $19,507.25 | +3.10% | $78,100.10 |
| 2008 | $21,080.10 | +8.06% | $86,608.51 |
| 2009 | $21,465.56 | +1.83% | $87,402.81 |
| 2010 | $23,439.38 | +9.20% | $96,824.29 |
| 2011 | $24,263.18 | +3.50% | $101,119.84 |
The Christmas Price Index is a tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...
economic indicator
Economic indicator
An economic indicator is a statistic about the economy. Economic indicators allow analysis of economic performance and predictions of future performance. One application of economic indicators is the study of business cycles....
, maintained by the U.S. bank PNC Financial Services
PNC Financial Services
PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. is a U.S.-based financial services corporation, with assets of approximately $264.3 billion...
, which tracks the cost of the items in the carol
Christmas carol
A Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.-History:...
"The Twelve Days of Christmas
The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)
"The Twelve Days of Christmas" is an English Christmas carol that enumerates a series of increasingly grand gifts given on each of the twelve days of Christmas. Although first published in England in 1780, textual evidence may indicate the song is French in origin...
."
Origins
The Christmas Price Index was conceived by the bank's chief economist as a humorous commodity price indexCommodity price index
A commodity price index is a fixed-weight index or average of selected commodity prices, which may be based on spot or futures prices...
to measure the changing cost of goods over time. Commodity price indices, as compiled by economics, use a "market basket
Market basket
The term market basket or commodity bundle refers to a fixed list of items used specifically to track the progress of inflation in an economy or specific market....
" of certain goods and then measure the cost of the goods from year to year to gauge inflation in different sectors of the economy.
The Christmas Price Index chose the items in the popular Christmas carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas
The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)
"The Twelve Days of Christmas" is an English Christmas carol that enumerates a series of increasingly grand gifts given on each of the twelve days of Christmas. Although first published in England in 1780, textual evidence may indicate the song is French in origin...
" as its market basket: a partridge
Partridge
Partridges are birds in the pheasant family, Phasianidae. They are a non-migratory Old World group.These are medium-sized birds, intermediate between the larger pheasants and the smaller quails. Partridges are native to Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East...
in a pear tree
Pear Tree
Pear Tree is an inner city suburb of Derby, England. It is situated next to the areas of Normanton, Rose Hill and Osmaston. Pear Tree could be described as a suburb within a suburb because the people of Derby would identify it as an area in its own right, but it could also be described as forming...
, two turtle doves
Turtle Dove
The European Turtle Dove , also known as Turtle Dove, is a member of the bird family Columbidae, which includes the doves and pigeons.-Distribution & Status:...
, three French hens, four calling [sic] birds, five gold(en) rings, six geese
Goose
The word goose is the English name for a group of waterfowl, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller....
, seven swan
Swan
Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...
s, eight maids, nine dancing ladies, ten leaping lords, eleven pipers, and twelve drummers. According to tradition, the purchasing of the items begins on December 26 and ends on January 6.
Methodology
PNC compiles both a "Christmas Price Index" and "The True Cost of Christmas." The "Christmas Price Index" is calculated by adding the cost of the items in the song. The "True Cost of Christmas," however, is calculated by following the exact instructions in the song (buying a partridge in a pear tree on each of the twelve days, buying two turtle doves from the second day onward, for a total of 22 turtle doves, etc.) for the complete set of 364 items.The price of each item is set as follows:
- The pear tree comes from a local Philadelphia nursery.
- The partridge, turtle dove, and French hen prices are determined by the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical GardenCincinnati Zoo and Botanical GardenThe Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden is the second-oldest zoo in the United States and is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. It opened in 1875, just 14 months after the Philadelphia Zoo on July 1, 1874. The Reptile House is the oldest zoo building in the United States, dating from 1875.The Cincinnati...
. - The price of a canaryDomestic CanaryThe Domestic Canary, often simply known as the canary, is a domesticated form of the wild Canary, a small songbird in the finch family originating from the Macaronesian Islands ....
at PetcoPETCOPETCO is a chain of retail stores that offers pet supplies and services such as grooming and dog training. Founded in 1965 and incorporated in Delaware, it is headquartered in San Diego, California...
is used for the calling [sic] bird, though the price of a blackbird (colly bird) would be more in tune with the song. - Gordon JewelersZale CorporationThe Zale Corporation is, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, a leading specialty retailer of jewelry in North America. The Zale Corporation was incorporated in Delaware in 1993...
sets the cost of the gold rings, though the gold rings of the song actually refer to ring-necked pheasants. - The National AviaryNational AviaryThe National Aviary, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is America's only independent indoor nonprofit aviary. It is also America's largest aviary, and the only accorded honorary "National" status by the United States Congress.-Location and features:...
in Pittsburgh sets prices for swans and geese. - The maids are assumed to be unskilled laborers earning the Federal Minimum WageMinimum wage in the United States, the federal minimum wage in the United States is $7.25 per hour. Some states and municipalities have set minimum wages higher than the federal level , with the highest state minimum wage being $8.67 in Washington. Some U.S. territories are exempt...
. - A Philadelphia dance company provides estimates for the salary of "ladies dancing".
- The Philadelphia BalletBalletBallet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
estimates the salary for the "leaping lords". - The going-rate for drummers and pipers is that of a Pennsylvania musicians' union.
Results
Like other light hearted economic indicators, such as The EconomistThe Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
s Big Mac Index
Big Mac index
The Big Mac Index is published by The Economist as an informal way of measuring the purchasing power parity between two currencies and provides a test of the extent to which market exchange rates result in goods costing the same in different countries...
which tracks the price of the Big Mac hamburger in different countries, the Christmas Price Index nevertheless produces results which have meaningful interpretations.
In general, the prices in the index have reflected the United States's growing service economy
Service economy
Service economy can refer to one or both of two recent economic developments. One is the increased importance of the service sector in industrialized economies. Services account for a higher percentage of US GDP than 20 years ago...
—prices for goods have mostly fallen, but prices for labor have risen greatly. The cost of hiring ladies and lords, for example, has risen over 300 percent. After the high cost of the dancers, the seven swans are the most expensive item on the index; the unpredictable breeding cycle of swans makes their supply uncertain. Much as the United States Consumer Price Index excludes volatile energy and food prices from its "core" index, the core Christmas Price Index excludes the swans; for 2008, the total price index rose 8.1% from 2007, while the core index rose only 1.1%. The cheapest item in the index is the partridge, which, in 2008, could be purchased for $20. Costs have generally risen and fallen along with the standard Consumer Price Index.
The survey also tracks the cost of ordering the items online; doing so is significantly more expensive, in part due to shipping costs. In 2008, PNC estimated the total cost at $31,956.62, up 2.3% from 2007, while purchasing all 364 items online would cost $131,150.76, an increase of 1.8%. However, if the buyer were to purchase each item from the least-expensive vendor, the total index would be $19,844.95, a discount of 5.86%.
External links
- PNC Christmas Price Index Web site